Millennium's End
by Adyen
Summary: The Silver Millennium has fallen, and the Queen's court sent to the future. However, someone arrive too late on the Lunar surface... Who is it? And how does it affect the future? Maybe you should ask one of the residents of Nerima...
1. Prologue

***End of the Silver Millennium - AS (After Serenity) 1***  
  
"Sir, we're entering Pluto's orbit in thirty seconds."  
  
The man, obviously in command, nodded to his officer at the helm and said, "Contact Charon Castle for permission to dock and re-supply. I want to contact Serenity and tell her we'll be arriving in the next twelve hour."  
  
His communications officer grinned as he replied, "No problem, sir. Shall I tell them of your little surprise?"  
  
The man at the captain's chair shook his head, a small whip of his hair shaking behind him like a tail, while grinning back. "Nah... We'll leave it as a surprise. Maybe little Serenity would enjoy it as much as her mother..."  
  
The helmsman suddenly shouted a curse as he checked his readings, entering Pluto orbit. "Sir! We've just entered Pluto's orbit... and Charon's not here!"  
  
"WHAT?!" The commander exclaimed, standing up. "Yellow Alert! Any signs of combat?"  
  
His science officer checked her readings and shook her head. "Sir, it doesn't seem like there were any types of battle. In fact, the Gate doesn't seem to be on Pluto as well, and you know that the gate is linked directly into the planet, so I'd hazard a guess that both are only out of synch and not destroyed."  
  
Falling back onto his command chair, the man lifted and arm and scratched the back of his head, ruffling his black hair slightly, trying to figure out this mystery. "Whatever the reason, it seems that the entire system is on highest alert. What about long range scans? Can they contact any of the other castles?"  
  
The communications officer glanced at the science officer, who merely nodded before changing a few settings on the screen in front of her. The communications officer then tapped a few buttons, but was rebuked by one of those 'error' sounds.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir, but the entire network is unreachable. Either all castles have been abandoned and shut down..." He did not complete the sentence, as the alternative was a grim fate to face.  
  
For a moment, everyone on the bridge was quiet as they contemplated what could have happened to create this situation. The commander sat in his seat, a frown on his face as he commanded his helmsman, "Set course for Saturn. If there's anything, we should find it there."  
  
"Aye, captain."  
  
===============================================================  
  
"No..."  
  
The captain stared at the planet Saturn in disbelief. Castle Titan was not online, and there was only one reason for it not to be: Sailor Saturn was not within it. Closing his blue eyes, he slowly sat back down, digesting what this means.  
  
Unlike any of the other Senshi Castles, Castle Titan was not only is the Castles the holding places for the Senshi Guardians, but it was also ran and operated by Saturn alone. While sealed within its depths, Saturn controlled the entire Castle through her powers and will alone, allowing excess energy to bleed harmlessly out of her body and constructively.  
  
For her to be outside would mean disaster of epic proportions. For her Castle to be not destroyed yet her still being outside, it would mean she was summoned by the three Talisman holders: The Outer Senshi. For them to summon Saturn...  
  
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he barked out the order he's dreaded since finding the system was on alert.  
  
"Set course directly to the Palace. Full speed."  
  
===============================================================  
  
They reached the Moon's orbit at sunset, Lunar time.  
  
Many of the officers were openly weeping at the sight that greeted them. Where there were once majestic geysers and buildings, there were ruble and destruction. Almost none of the pillars that once stood in front of the palace were standing, and dried blood littered the ground like sand.  
  
However, there were no bodies. None, except one.  
  
It was obvious that the residual magic had preserved the entire capitol as it was after the invasion. While this was the only 'city' on the entire Lunar surface, none of the colonies on other planets would still be left if they managed to breach the silver shield that normally protected it, as they powered the shield. Only Earth, the remaining planet that did not have its planetary ecosystem destroyed, would naturally hold life now.  
  
As the sadden crew salvaged whatever was left in the capitol, the Commander solemnly walked up to the white dressed figure, seemingly only asleep, and knelt down besides her.  
  
Night has fallen, yet the pace of activity from the ship to the palace only lightened slightly. If someone was watching, they would only see two silhouettes close to each other: One leaning by a wall, the other kneeling right beside the first.  
  
"Why didn't you call me, foolish white queen?" He asked, brushing off a stray piece of hair from the face. "I would have returned immediately if you only called."  
  
She didn't answer. She can't answer.  
  
"Why?" He angrily asked, his eyes tearing up. "Why did this happen? Why did it happen to you?"  
  
He suddenly lunged forwards, enveloping the dead queen with heart wrenching sobs and burying his head under her silver hair. "Why did I have to be away? Why? Why?! WHY?! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!!"  
  
His cry slowly echoed through the now silent moon. His crew knew better to interrupt him. It was a moment reserved only for the Commander and his wife.  
  
===============================================================  
  
Millennium's End  
  
A Fanfic by Adyen  
  
Prolog  
  
===============================================================  
  
Author's Notes: I really shouldn't start new fics when I haven't finished ones from before, but this idea just stuck me as something interesting and I couldn't shake it off. My disclaimer is in my bio, so if you really want to know what it is, go read it there! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! 


	2. Chapter 1

===============================================================  
  
Millennium's End  
  
A Fanfic by Adyen  
  
Chapter 1  
  
===============================================================  
  
Ranma Saotome slowly made his way to Furinkan, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Akane was sick that day, and he was in no mood to turn into his female counterpart this morning.  
  
As he thought back to the past two and a half years at Nerima, it still amazes him how things have turned out. Having Genma as a father had been a shocker, as he never thought anyone could be as focused on a single (or rather, dual) goal(s) as to lose sight of everything else, including the welfare of their own child.  
  
Of all the stunts Genma pulled, nothing did beat the multiple engagements, seeing that it was the one single problem that cannot be solved easily.  
  
Ranma sighed as he leapt off the roof and onto the ground, only to be immediately splashed by someone on a bicycle riding through a puddle. Sighing again, the now female Ranma made sure it wasn't Shampoo before shaking herself of the excess water, catching her reflection on another puddle.  
  
She closed her eyes in sorrow as Ranma noticed her silver hair and blue eyes. No, scratch the earlier thought. Nothing beats Jusenkyo, period. Though she is somewhat grateful.  
  
=============================================================== Flashback ===============================================================  
  
"Pop... Are you sure about this place?" Asked a rather nervous Ranma, who glanced around the pools with bamboo sticks sticking out with more than a bit of curiosity.  
  
"Foolish boy!" Genma yelled from atop of a bamboo. "The path of a martial artist's is filled with peril! This is nothing! Or are you afraid of a little water?"  
  
Ranma frowned as he jumped up on top of a nearby bamboo shoot. "I'm not afraid!"  
  
"HA!" Genma laughed as he dashed forwards in hopes of surprising his son. Neither of them notices a short bald man run up from a nearby hut yelling at them to stop.  
  
After a fury of attacks, Ranma manages to position Genma directly in front of the sun, blinding him for a moment, before suddenly launching a surprise offensive and kicking him into one of the ponds below.  
  
"Oh Sir!" Someone on the ground groaned. Ranma turned to see the man with a look of stricken horror on his face and his hand holding his head. "You fall into spring of drowned panda! Very tragic story of a panda drowning in spring 2000 years ago! Now anyone fall into spring takes on the form of a panda!"  
  
Ranma was about to laugh that off as just some tourist trap when his father launched himself from the pond at Ranma. Or rather, a big panda launched itself at Ranma from the pond his father fell into.  
  
However shocked Ranma's mind was, his body automatically defended itself from the attacker. Unfortunately, he was no match for the panda's strength in addition to a martial artist's abilities and quickly fell victim to a crescent kick that threw him right into another pool.  
  
The moment he hit the pool, he could feel his body tingling. It was like a rush of energy suddenly charged into her and started dancing just under his skin, creating a sensation not unlike being wrapped around completely by soft towels. However, all things must end, and he finally reached the bottom of the pool, allowing him to push himself back up and stand straight.  
  
A glint of silver caught the edge of his eye as the rest of his body reported differences to his brain. Looking down at 'his' chest, *she* finds her hands to be slimmer than she remembers them to be. Her nails were moderately long, long enough to be manicured, yet short enough to be practical. Strangely, there was a silver sheen over the nails, as if she had worn nail polish over them.  
  
The strand of sliver slid down from her head, making her notice her slightly longer silver hair dripping from the water. A shiver runs over her as the water finally calms enough for her to catch her reflection on the water. She still expected to see the face of Ranma Saotome reflected on the surface, and was shocked to see that she looked like someone else entirely. Someone beautiful... Someone whom he loved dearly...  
  
The shock of the memories that suddenly rose from the depths of her soul overwhelmed her and she lost conscious.  
  
=============================================================== Flashback ===============================================================  
  
When he woke to, Genma was already gone and Ranma had a splitting headache; figuratively splitting because he now had way too much memories of a past life floating around his head to be ignored. The guide had said that most people that were cursed there mostly young people and did not have an image of what the perfect female should look like to them, and that his drastic transformation only happened rarely.  
  
The guide then went on to tell Ranma that the springs use powerful magic to extract the image of whatever the victims thought as most fitting to be as templates for each curse. Having fallen into the pool of drowned girl, the pool extracted what Ranma thought as the 'perfect' example of a female. In most cases, it would be a close facsimile to her mother, but it seems that the pool tapped into his previous life and from the memories there, choose his wife and soul-mate.  
  
As Ranma, having decided to keep this name for this life, finally got all his thoughts (from both the past and present) under control, his panda of a father suddenly burst in with a little piglet in his hand. The panda, noticing that his son has awaken, was about to give the boy-cursed-to-turn- into-girl a great hug (and finally dancing in relieve that his son isn't dead so he won't have to get killed by his wife) when his finely honed danger sense kicked in, allowing him to jump back to avoid the first punch at his head from his son.  
  
What happened over the next two hours was the most fun Ranma had in his life: kicking a giant panda all over the place. Genma had dropped the piglet almost immediately after Ranma's attack (and if she knew what she knew now, Ranma would have made sure that Ryoga got back to his normal form and they would have gotten THAT mess fixed...), and spent the next two hours being beaten up by Ranma, mostly in his female form.  
  
"RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!!!!"  
  
Working on instincts was ingrained into him via years of training, the silver-haired martial artist deftly jumped away from the attack, back flipping a few paces behind where she was and muttered to herself, "Speak of the devil..."  
  
Putting on her most annoying smirk, she asked, "Yo, P-chan. What's up? Lost again?" Inwardly, Ranma frowned. She had thought they settled their differences before the entire Jyusendou, especially since she made it clear that she had no interest in Akane other than friendly ones. (It took her two years to finally get that through his thick brain, but she's managed it)  
  
"DIE!" The fanged boy yelled, completely ignoring anything except his eternal enemy. He seems very focused... Up to the point where he could actually follow Ranma's movements, even if he couldn't block them. The pigtailed boy's mental frown deepened.  
  
Suddenly one of Ryoga's hit struck a wall with a water pipe within it, drenching both of them with cold water. With Ranma, it wouldn't have mattered anyways since she's already in her cursed form, but when nothing happened to Ryoga other than him having to wipe away the water from his eyes, Ranma gasped in shock as lines of black magic swept through the cursed boy, somehow both draining the energy from the curse and preventing the change at the same time.  
  
Jumping away, yet making sure Ryoga could follow her, Ranma activated a quick spell to locate an area where there wasn't anyone around. The field where they always fought was out, seeing that Nabiki had both bugged and have video cameras there...  
  
She led Ryoga for an entire hour on near top speed before they reached the edge of the city, having jumped from rooftop through four different districts. When she reached an area she was sure was far enough away from anyone so both of them fighting at full strength would not hurt any innocents, she stopped and turned around, waiting for her part time rival to arrive.  
  
And arrive he did, a trail of black magic trailing behind him like tendrils pushing him towards her. Ranma shuddered for a second, remembering the last time she had seen that kind of magic was nearly ten thousand years ago. (It was always tempting when Cologne sprouts the "We got three thousand years of Amazon history behind us" speech at him with a "And you're a few thousand years too young to really defeat me" retort.)  
  
Standing in front of the cursed boy/girl, the fanged boy slowly growled out, "Today, you die." and brought out his umbrella, covered by dark electricity.  
  
Openly showing his frown, Ranma took up a stance as she said, "Ryoga, you're being controlled by something... Come on, we settled our differences already, remember? I would hate it if something evil was making you do this 'cause you're my friend and all."  
  
Ryoga didn't reply, except start charging Ranma with his umbrella, intent on completely destroying him.  
  
Ranma sighed, and used a power that she hasn't used except in private or having made sure nobody would notice it.  
  
A white glow flashed from the ground below her, completely covering her up and staggering the charging Ryoga. When the light receded, Ranma was back in his male form, and dressed completely differently.  
  
A white outfit with crosses of silver and gold covered his entire body like a second skin, while a second coat covered his back and sides like a cape.At the cuffs of his arms, three bands of silver lined with gold stripes wrapped around it, signifying his rank as high admiral of the Silver Kingdom's space navy.  
  
At the front of the outfit, where the outfit's arm connects to the chest, two red lines seem to follow the curve of the arm, then turn back inwards and go straight to the pelvic area, and ending at a belt like design that goes around his waist. Other than that, the entire outfit is rather plain for someone who held a rank in the Silver Court, as even the gloves were simple white ones that seems connected to the outfit.  
  
His face was uncovered except for a single and simple looking crown that encircled his forehead, giving him a slightly more mature look. When he spoke, it seemed as though an older voice came out of him, one which spoke of maturity and age.  
  
"Dark powers that prey upon humans," He started as he brought his arms in a cross position across his stomach, seeming to draw two shafts of light from invisible sheaves that hung on the two sides of his hip. "Release my friend, or suffer the consequences."  
  
As the shafts of light solidified, they slowly became the shape of an European short sword and long sword without much markings on it, yet the sliver hilt and blade seemed to be created by one piece of metal instead of being separate. On the hilt was a crest of the Lunar family, used only by the royalties of the Moon.  
  
The being that controlled Ryoga Hibiki didn't know what this meant for it, but nothing was going to make it release such a gold mine of dark emotions to feed upon. That's why the fanged boy snarled and charged at what was once Ranma Saotome, now dressed as he did back in the Silver Millennium as King Solaris.  
  
Author's note: Solaris. *sigh* Why did I choose Solaris even though it has been used more than a few times? Mainly because I needed a name that points to the term 'light', and I can't use the Japanese translated names for Silver Millennium people. I could have used the Greek pantheon, but could you imagine someone like Ranma being called 'Apollo'? Not to mention the mythology doesn't work for the position I have him in.  
  
Besides, Solaris has been used less time than Apollo (in my counts).  
  
I actually intend to continue this for some time. As to *when* in the SM continuity this is in? Well... You'll find out very soon. I promise that. 


	3. Chapter 2

===============================================================  
  
Millennium's End  
  
A Fanfic by Adyen  
  
Chapter 2  
  
===============================================================  
  
As the being that currently possessed Ryoga pushed the boy's body to attack the one who was once called Solaris, another fight of epic proportions was being fought at a distant place. Light and shadows danced around each other as magical powers were being shot off like bullets from a handgun. Each side was determined not to lose, yet neither side had enough power for a decisive victory; not unless sacrifices were made.  
  
One by one, the protectors of a silver energy fell, taking portions of the enemy with them. One by one, the princess was being singled out as her protectors died fighting for her but she continued on, backed by the promise of her mother; the wills of her friends; and the knowledge of a father searching for her, one that her mother had told her about. She made a promise to herself - she would find her father if he was alive, and find the truth, if not for her mother, then for herself. She would survive any hardship to fulfil this request from her mother, and to ease her own mind about it.  
  
Finally, she reached her love, only to have history repeat on itself. He died protecting her, but she promises that they will be together again, after the Great Evil has been defeated. And so, the climatic battle between Princess Serenity and the evil being known as Metallia escalates, much like the battle between Ryoga and Solaris.  
  
"I don't know how much longer I can hold back without getting hurt." Solaris thought as he parried the umbrella with his long sword. "But if I don't hold back, he could get hurt!"  
  
At first, it seems that he had a distinct edge (no pun intended) over the possessed Ryoga, but that was before he realized that the being that controlled Ryoga didn't care a single bit about the life of his host. Now, it was all he could do to prevent the creature from realizing this, making small cuts upon the fanged boy's body as if he was truly attacking.  
  
It was nearly two minutes after the battle started that the possessed Ryoga started throwing black bolts of chi, similar to the Shishi Hokodan, but with something like black lightning trailing it. Solaris quickly learned to dodge such attacks or block it when the first one impacted into a tree, causing black lightning to course through it and setting it on fire. Using a bit of Silver Magic, Solaris quickly threw a counter bolt of silver magic at the attacks being thrown at him to prevent a forest fire. Each time the two opposing bolts clashed, it created a small explosion, but thankfully no fire.  
As their battle started reaching their climax, so did the battle between Serenity and Metallia. The young woman closed her eyes for a second, feeling her friends lend her support from beyond the grave. With a final burst of energy, Serenity opened her eyes and let loose a blast of silver energy from her staff, completely overwhelming the darkness and spreading out like a sonic boom from a fighter jet, only much quicker.  
  
At the same time, Solaris was forced to power up for one of his stronger attacks, hoping that it would only knock his friend out yet destroying whatever it was that possessed him.  
  
Jumping back a small distance, he placed the bottom of the hilts together where they suddenly fused into one single weapon. Placing the double edged sword in front of him horizontally, he used his free right arm and placed his palm on the open space of the hilt, causing a silver aura to suddenly spring to life around the sword.  
  
"SILVER FLARE!!!!" He yelled as a wide beam of energy fired off from the entire length of the weapon at the possessed Ryoga, who had taken his actions as preparing to attack and also fired off an extra large ball of darkness.  
  
Suddenly, just as the two energies were about to collide with each other, a curtain of silver energy suddenly slammed into both fighters, causing two different reactions.  
  
For Ryoga, he suddenly screamed in anguish as the dark aura around him seemed to flicker out, as did the dark ball that was to impact the line of silver energy. He slumped down to the ground, and that was the only reason why Solaris' attack missed him.  
  
For Solaris, it was as though he was splashed with ice cold water. There was no mistaking that energy for anything else other than the Silver Crystal, something that he had tried to find whenever he had the spare time, and all those thousands of years ago on the moon. However, it was missing with the rest of the population of the Moon Kingdom, and he had little hope of actually finding it, with the death of his wife.  
  
His thoughts of the past soon ended as he noticed a sort of blurring all around him. It was then he realized that his attack must have somehow affected the wave of energy that had came upon him, but it was too late as he soon lost consciousness from the distortions.  
  
===============================================================  
  
Usagi was on the edge of her consciousness when it happened. She had just beaten Metallia with her friends help and had started to fall down into the recesses of the Dark Kingdom after releasing all that energy when a pulse of Silver Energy seemed to jag straight at her and the crystal, striking directly in her chest and shattering her locket.  
  
She felt a tearing sensation as though she was being pulled in two different directions at once, and the next thing she knew was that she was once again on the Moon; this time, the palace was in its original glory and the two moon cats were licking her face, trying to get her to wake up.  
  
"Wha..." She got out before she suddenly held her head in pain, feeling as though lightning has struck inside her brain, frying it repeatedly yet keeping her conscious.  
  
A torrent of memories suddenly washed through her. Memories of herself yet not herself; memories of being the Princess in crystal clarity; both seeming to merge with her own, threatening to drown her yet somehow keeping her afloat. When she opened her eyes again, it seemed as though everything had changed, yet remain the same at the same time.  
  
"My daughter..." A voice called out from behind all three of them.  
  
Artemis quickly bowed by the small holographic image, but Luna stayed by Usagi's side, though she did bow in the deceased Queen's direction.  
  
Usagi painfully sat up and turned to where the image was, holding a hand to her aching head. "Mother?"  
  
"Serenity." The Queen said, "You have finally defeated Metallia, and for that, I must thank you for correcting that mistake I had made. Luna? Artemis? Could you please leave us alone for a moment? I wish to talk to my daughter alone."  
  
The two cats looked at each other for a moment. Luna seemed to be about to protest, but Artemis shook his head and replied, "Of course. We'll examine the palace and tell the Prince our Princess has awaken while you talk with your daughter."  
  
Both Queen and Princess watched the two felines enter the revived Moon Palace with silence. Neither spoke until the cats were distantly away and could not overhear the conversation.  
  
"I'm sorry, my daughter." The Queen started. "I have caused you pain."  
  
"What happened to me?" Usagi asked, closing her eyes in order to clear her thoughts. "The last thing I remember was fighting Metallia with the power of the Silver Crystal and my senshi. I was exhausted when a silver energy suddenly shattered my brooch, then I felt as though I was being pulled in two different directions... But I also remember healing the Earth with the power of the Silver Crystal..."  
  
"This is not the Reality you were in." Serenity sadly said. Usagi's head snapped up in shock as the Queen continued. "In your final battle back in your previous Reality, when you released your final wave of power, it was to affect the entire planet, but something unexpected happened. A second wave of silver energy was being used at the same time, causing a feedback reaction in both you and whoever used that power."  
  
Usagi stared at the figure in front of her for a moment before asking, "But if it's a different place, how do you know?"  
  
The Queen looked at her daughter sadly. "I'm a spirit kept alive by the power of the Crystal's lingering energies. I cannot be affected by it, but I can ride on the power generated by someone else."  
  
Usagi was quiet as she thought about what her past-life's mother was telling her. "I suddenly gained memories of things I didn't do yet I did..."  
  
"That would be you changing to fit this modified reality." The hologram said. "You'll always be yourself, but having left your original reality, you have been changed to fit into this one."  
  
"But what about everyone? What happened?" Usagi asked, tears starting to show in her eyes. "My friends and family will miss me..."  
  
The hologram was silent for a moment, before sadly answering, "It isn't very possible that you'll ever find your way back, if you do attempt to try."  
  
The blonde's eyes opened widely in shock as the Queen continued. "You see, once you leave your reality, you become 'blind' to it. In fact, just leaving the reality takes a large store of energy that isn't readily available or controllable, which is probably why your brooch was destroyed."  
  
A sudden circle of light appeared in front of the hologram. When the light receded, a new brooch appeared in front of her. Usagi picked it up, and opening the circular lid, found a hole right in the middle.  
  
"Place the Silver Crystal within it for safekeeping. It will allow you to access more power as Sailor Moon than you could before. Saying 'Moon Crystal Power, Make Up' will allow you to turn into Sailor Moon once again." The Queen directed.  
  
After following the direction and placing the brooch with the crystal in front of her chest, Usagi looked up at the Earth while the Queen said, "Please, Usagi. This Earth needs you to save her people. Maybe one day you'll feel that this place is home as well."  
  
Usagi smiled sadly and shook her head. "No, I do feel this place is my home. It's just that so was where I from."  
  
"Protect them." The hologram said before fading out. "And be happy."  
  
===============================================================  
  
Ranma held her head in pain as she shook off the dizziness. She hasn't felt that bad since she found out the Chiisuiton interrupts with her normal magical abilities.  
  
Getting up, she notices Ryoga still out cold a bit of distance away from her. Quickly moving over, she checks the lost boy's pulse and to his relief, finds it healthy and strong.  
  
A sudden burst of energy alerts Ranma of someone's arrival. She quickly gets up and to her shock, a woman appears from nowhere, holding on to a long staff and wearing a Sailor Fuku.  
  
"Your MAGESTY?!" Sailor Pluto asks, aghast and shocked to find a younger vision of whom seemingly created such a huge disturbance in Time.  
  
"Sailor PLUTO?!" Ranma asks, aghast and shocked to find the Guardian of Time abandoning her post and meeting her here.  
  
Author's Notes: Heheh... Anyone know what happened or care to make a guess? I've given quite a lot of clues.... 


	4. Chapter 3

===============================================================  
  
Millennium's End  
  
A Fanfic by Adyen  
  
Chapter 3  
  
===============================================================  
  
"What are YOU doing here?" Ranma asked, shaking her head clear of the cobwebs. "You're not supposed to be here!"  
  
Pluto's brows furrowed together as she looked at this silver haired near doppelganger for the old queen. She knew for a fact that Serenity had died back on the Moon, and she was not sent into this time to be reincarnated. Putting on a frown, she levelled her Staff at the impostor and coolly asking, "Who are you?"  
  
"Who am *I*?" Ranma asked with an incredulous expression before suddenly understanding, and looking down at her chest for confirmation. "Oh right... I look like HER right now..."  
  
Keeping her expression neutral with a small frown, Pluto tried to keep the confusion from appearing on her face. Here she was, trying to confront something that entered from outside the timeline and she finds someone who looked like the dead Queen, not to mention probably knew who she looked like to make a statement like the one she just did. What happened next only served to raise her confusion.  
  
With what was obviously energy from the Royal House of the Moon, the silver haired female shimmered within a geyser of light, somehow being limited only around her figure and the immediate area. Pluto covered her eyes with a gloved hand, still somewhat amused at how effective the cover of light was after many centuries after being invented, and blinked a few times to adjust for the brightness.  
  
What she saw made her blink in disbelief. Standing in front of her was a man garbed in something that only a king would be wearing. King of the Silver Millennium, to be exact. But that's impossible, to her knowledge. For one thing, the King was already dead nearly a century before the War; And secondly, the decorations on him identified him as at least an admiral, and no member of ANY Royal Family is allowed to hold a military rank, a precaution to prevent anyone from pooling power to themselves.  
  
Now, more firmly set that this man was either some impostor or invader from outside her timeline, she charged up for a Dead Scream, but refrained from releasing it, seeing that he HAD used the power that only someone of the Lunar House could use.  
  
"I repeat, who are you?" She asked with a icy dead tone, her Garnet Orb crackling with purple/red energy as she prepared to attack. "Pretending to be a member of the Royal Family is treason and punishable by death."  
  
To say Solaris was stunned was to say that the sun is bright. Of course he knew what the punishments were, but he never thought it would be levied against HIM of all people. Though come to think about it, there was that one time... But right now, he had to focus at the matter on hand.  
  
"What do you mean, 'pretending to be a member of the Royal Family'?!" He demanded, straightening himself to his full height. "I am Solaris VI, Commander of the First Fleet, King of the Silver Millennium, Husband of Serenity XVII, father of Serenity XVIII! Not some 'pretender' to the thrown! Do YOU know the punishment for committing treason?!"  
  
"Bullshit." Pluto calmly replied, keeping an eye on him. "King Agamemnon XXI was the husband of Serenity XI and father of Serenity XII. No royal member is allowed a position in the Millennium's fleet, and the king died a hundred years before the Fall, so you can't be a reincarnation of him either."  
  
"Baxter the Blowhard?!" He exclaimed incredulously. "He doesn't know the first *thing* about diplomacy, not to mention how to treat a woman like a slab of meat!"  
  
Pluto refrained from nodding in agreement. He still *was* her sovereign king, though deceased.  
  
"Besides, he gave up his claim when his system came under attack by some sort of monster and he had to call the Golden Queen to help him." Solaris added, trying to remember exactly what happened.  
  
The name trickled upon Pluto's memory, but she couldn't bring it out for some reason. Solaris, seeing that she still hasn't put down her weapon, decided on the direct approach.  
  
"Look, I was fighting a possessed him," points to Ryoga, "with an energy flare, hoping to purify him when suddenly a freaking curtain of energy from the Silver Crystal smashed right by us, causing a form of backlash that knocked me out. When I woke up, you appeared, and the rest you know."  
  
For a moment, Pluto was tempted to just blast them anyways for entering this timeline, but if he IS royalty, it won't matter what dimension he came from: the punishment is the same. Gritting her teeth, she hoped that this 'Solaris' isn't as big an ass as Baxter.  
  
"Fine, we'll talk at my place." Moving over to Ryoga, she motions for Solaris to move over to where she is, and asks, "Can you carry him and travel? We have a few wards to move through, and I don't want to let anyone else see us."  
  
Solaris nodded as he picked Ryoga up. "No problem. Just lead the way."  
  
===============================================================  
  
Usagi walked slowly through the streets of Juuban with Mamoru beside her. People were waking up and shaking her heads as if they had a bad dream that they didn't want to remember.  
  
"Mamo-chan, do you think everyone is back as well?" Usagi asked, leaning on her lover's shoulder. "I'm worried..."  
  
Letting her lean on him, Mamoru reassuringly said, "I'm positive that they're alright. You gave everyone their energy back, I'm sure you managed to heal them as well."  
  
"USAGI-CHAN!"  
  
Freezing, Usagi slowly looked over her shoulder with wide eyes to find her four friends standing behind them, each one with standing proud, even if a bit weary. Tears built in Usagi's eyes until she practically flew out of Mamoru's embrace and ran towards her friends, yelling, "MINNA!"  
  
It was a tearful reunion of a survivor hugging those that she thought were dead. They held on to each other for a long time, not saying anything but just enjoying the feeling of knowing that everyone is alive. When they finally broke apart, the six headed to Rei's shrine to talk and just be with each other, knowing that they defeated the evil that had destroyed their lives before.  
  
===============================================================  
  
Pluto opened the door to her mansion. She hadn't planned on using it so early, but with the circumstances, there was no other choice. Solaris laid Ryoga face down on the sofa, while Pluto turned on the lights and got herself a drink from the kitchen. Returning, she found her 'guest' as he was just about to enter the kitchen himself.  
  
"Ah... Can I have some warm water?" He asked, still garbed in his uniform.  
  
Pluto frowned at him, but did as he requested. She also brought out a portable water boiler in case she wanted to pour herself another cup of tea. Heading to the dining room, she asked, "So, why did you look like Serenity?"  
  
Solaris narrowed his eyes at the way she so casually called her own queen, but let it pass. It must have been quite a long time between the Silver Millennium and the 'present' anyways. "One name: Spring of Drowned female."  
  
Pluto was about to take a drink from her cup when she froze at the name. "You've been to Jusenkyo?"  
  
"Ah, I see you heard of it." Solaris said as he turned back to her cursed form. "I fell into the pool, and now I'm cursed to turn into the love that I can never have again." With that, she poured some of the warm water on her head, accidentally spilling some on the ground.  
  
"Oh, sorry about that. Let me reintroduce myself: I'm..."  
  
"Saotome Ranma." The two of them said at the same time, though Pluto said it in a dead flat tone.  
  
"I see you know me." Ranma said with an eyebrow up.  
  
"I wish I didn't." She said, gritting her teeth. "Your counterpart in this dimension caused me a LOT of headaches."  
  
"Oh." Ranma said meekly, embarrassed that even in another dimension he's the focus of chaos. 


	5. Chapter 4

=============================================================== Millennium's End

A Fanfic by Adyen

Chapter 4

"So King Agamemnon was able to secure the alliance with Serenity though a political marriage, though soon after the Chaos Wars forced him to return to his solar system where he perished, but not before striking a decisive blow and ending the War with many other Senshi." Setsuna explained.

It had taken a bit of explaining from the senshi of Pluto before Ranma had finally understood that he's been flung into another timeline with Ryoga. Needless to say, he wasn't too happy with the idea that it was entirely possible that whoever had caused that curtain of silver energy might still been alive back in his timeline.

However, once he's gotten over that fact, he decided to take it easy for now and listen to what else Pluto had to say, especially considering the supposed changes in the timeline.

Pluto had reverted to her passive form as a show of trust, and they began debating the differences in their timelines.

"Well, he might be rude and a blowhard, but even I would agree that he's an impressive fighter." Ranma said, glancing at Ryoga who still looked a bit crisp as if slightly burnt. Though honestly, the silver energy probably did burn out the dark energy from him without the whole healing part because of their fight.

Setsuna hummed non-commitedly while taking another sip from her tea. "I'm more surprised that I don't recall you from memory. How did you manage to marry Serenity?"

Ranma chuckled and shook his head. "That's a long story full of embarassing accidents and awkward moments. I would tell you about it, but I'd rather find out more about the situation first. Like how do you know me? Or the me in this timeline?"

Setsuna gave him a small glare at the dodge, but gracefully gave into the change of topic while promising herself to ask again later. "Did you know that life-energy tends to embody a little bit of chaos in it?" She casually mentioned. "It's what makes humans so adaptable yet susceptable to dark energy. Ranma and his little group has been throwing around this energy for nearly a year and it has taken me the entire time to keep a lid over it so to not lure every energy hungry being into a all you can eat BUFFET!"

Setsuna had been saying that with a calm voice, but even without stressing the last word it was rather obvious that she had been under a lot of pressure. It seemed that she decided to use this oppurtunity to vent her annoyance to the (somewhat timeline displaced counterpart) root of her problems.

Ranma merely sweatdropped as he could imagine how much work she would had to do if this timeline's Nermia was anything like his own. However, it also brought up another question.

"Then that means you had been here all this time even though the fall of the Queendom." Ranma said flatly as another flare of silver energy brought him back into his fully armored form.

"Tell me what happened to cause the death of my family."

It's been nearly an entire day since Usagi woke up in this timeline and when she was not spending time with her friends, she was spending time with her love. But underneath all the hugging and relaxing she couldn't help comparing them to her friends from the other timeline.

On the surface, they were pretty much the same people. They liked the same things, shared similar interests in fashion and people, even disliked many of the same things as well. However, if she wanted to use a single word to describe her current friends compared to her other ones, she would probably have to use 'matured'.

They had just been in a situation where it was possible that all life could have ended, and had been the only source of defense against it. They knew their responsiblities, and knew that they were up for what the world asks of them.

As for herself... she knew she was in a rather interesting position. She had two sets of memories about being Usagi, but they were pretty similar in most cases. It was the memories of being Serenity that has caused a change within her.

If someone had asked Usagi about what she thought being a princess was about before everything that had happened, she would have innocently gave the stereotypical answer and not given it a second thought. Now that she IS Serenity though, she's realized the true meaning of the word Responibility.

Serenity's life was in a way both a blessing and a curse. Groomed from birth to rule, she was in most way that mattered similar to her mother. Compassion was something that she knew herself capable of as both Usagi and Serenity, but now it was tempered with responsibility to her subjects and her queendom.

Well, her queendom of 6 currently (her love isn't really her subject) didn't have much requirements and she didn't have to about the inter-system economics required to feed them or anything, so her Usagi side decided to take a 'watch and wait' response and simply enjoy time with her love.

"So, I know they're still cleaning up, but do you think the movie theater is opened yet?" She asked Mamoru, who was walking with her though one of the many parks in Tokyo. They had decided to go a bit further than normal because one of the many traits that her senshi shared with her alternate timeline ones is their love for gossip and somehow crashing her dates.

"I don't know, but we can go and find out." Mamoru replied with an amused tone as he lead her out of the park. Usagi merely held her love tighter and enjoyed the time they currently have. She was optimistic, but not optimistic enough to let time with her love go to waste. 


End file.
